Practice › Task 1
IELTS Writing Task 1: Line graph
How to recognise it
Lines showing change over time (years, months, hours).
The overview
Name the overall direction of each line (rose, fell, fluctuated) and the biggest contrast, e.g. which ended highest. No numbers needed in the overview.
Plan (20 minutes)
| Paragraph | What to write |
|---|---|
| Introduction (1 sentence) | Paraphrase what the graph shows, the place and the time period. |
| Overview (2 sentences) | Main trends + the most striking feature. Required for Band 7 Task Achievement. |
| Body 1 | Group lines that behave alike, with start/end figures and key changes. |
| Body 2 | The other group, and any crossing points or peaks. |
Think before you write
- What does the visual show, in what units, and over what time or in what places?
- Find the 2-3 key features (biggest, smallest, main trend, biggest change, exception).
- Write the overview sentence first in your head; it decides how you group the body paragraphs.
- Choose only the figures that support those features. Don't describe everything.
Useful language
- rose steadily
- increased sharply
- climbed to a peak of…
- a dramatic rise
- fell gradually
- declined steadily
- dropped to a low of…
- a slight decrease
- remained stable at about…
- levelled off
- fluctuated between … and …
- over the period
- between 2000 and 2020
- roughly doubled
- just under a third
Mistakes that cost bands
- No overview, only figures.
- Describing every year one by one instead of the trend.
- Wrong tense: past dates need the past simple.
10 practice questions
Original questions written for upband.ai in the style of the exam. Write your answer in 20 minutes, then score it.
The line graph shows the percentage of households with internet access in three countries between 2000 and 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Country | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country A | 30 | 55 | 75 | 88 | 95 |
| Country B | 10 | 25 | 45 | 65 | 80 |
| Country C | 5 | 8 | 15 | 30 | 55 |
Units: % of households
Practise this question →The graph shows the average number of hours per week that teenagers in one country spent on three activities from 2010 to 2025.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Activity | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social media | 5 | 12 | 18 | 22 |
| Watching TV | 15 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| Reading | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Units: hours per week
Practise this question →The line graph shows the number of visitors (in millions) to three UK museums from 2004 to 2024.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Museum | 2004 | 2009 | 2014 | 2019 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science museum | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| Art gallery | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
| History museum | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 4.1 |
Units: millions of visitors
Practise this question →The graph shows the price of three fuels in one European country between 2015 and 2025.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Fuel | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 1.2 | 1.25 | 1.3 | 1.45 | 1.75 | 1.6 |
| Diesel | 1.15 | 1.2 | 1.28 | 1.4 | 1.85 | 1.65 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | 0.15 | 0.16 | 0.17 | 0.22 | 0.34 | 0.28 |
Units: euros per litre / per kWh
Practise this question →The line graph shows the average monthly temperature in two cities over one year.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| City | Jan | Mar | May | Jul | Sep | Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City X | 4 | 9 | 16 | 24 | 19 | 8 |
| City Y | 26 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 21 | 25 |
Units: degrees Celsius
Practise this question →The graph shows the percentage of people using four types of transport to travel to work in one city from 1995 to 2025.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Transport | 1995 | 2005 | 2015 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car | 55 | 52 | 45 | 35 |
| Bus | 20 | 18 | 17 | 18 |
| Bicycle | 5 | 7 | 14 | 25 |
| Walking | 20 | 23 | 24 | 22 |
Units: % of commuters
Practise this question →The line graph shows the number of international students (in thousands) at universities in three countries from 2005 to 2025.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Country | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country P | 120 | 160 | 210 | 190 | 240 |
| Country Q | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | 100 |
| Country R | 20 | 45 | 90 | 140 | 200 |
Units: thousands of students
Practise this question →The graph shows the amount of electricity (in gigawatt-hours) produced from three sources in one country from 2000 to 2025.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Source | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal | 300 | 320 | 280 | 200 | 120 | 60 |
| Gas | 150 | 180 | 220 | 250 | 230 | 200 |
| Wind and solar | 5 | 15 | 40 | 110 | 210 | 330 |
Units: GWh
Practise this question →The line graph shows the unemployment rate among three age groups in one country between 2008 and 2024.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Age group | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 12 | 19 | 21 | 14 | 17 | 11 |
| 25-49 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| 50-64 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
Units: % unemployed
Practise this question →The graph shows the number of books borrowed from a public library each month and the number of e-books downloaded from the same library in 2024.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
| Type | Jan | Mar | May | Jul | Sep | Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printed books | 9000 | 8500 | 7800 | 9500 | 8200 | 8800 |
| E-books | 3000 | 3800 | 4500 | 6000 | 6800 | 7600 |
Units: number per month
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